Unlike your car, your boiler won’t necessarily tell you when it needs a service, and you normally rely on your gas safe engineer or paperwork to remind you that the annual service is due. Sometimes there are some clear indicators that your boiler could do with a thorough once over. Below I have listed a few of the easiest to spot.
What’s that noise?
A correctly functioning boiler will operate relatively quietly, and you will be familiar with the sounds it does make when it fires up when needed for hot water or heating. So, a good indication that something might be amiss is any unfamiliar sounds coming from the boiler, think either hissing or clunking as these are most common. Should you begin to hear strange noises, your boiler isn’t haunted, it's just time to arrange a service.
How old is it?
Much like a car or indeed a person, the older a boiler gets, the more it needs to be looked after and there is more opportunity for things to go wrong. A well maintained and regularly serviced boiler can last in excess of 10 years, but it is important to keep up the service schedule. A good engineer will be able to tell you at service if a boiler is nearing the age or condition at which point it would be better to replace rather than prolong the life span with repairs.
Does it get hot?
If your boiler is taking longer than usual to bring the system up to temperature its time to arrange a service, in a year where we have seen energy bills increase drastically for many households’ fuel efficiency is key and a serviced boiler will keep you warm at a lower cost than one that is slow to heat. It will also be more cost-effective as you will be using less gas to bring the system up to temperature.
Do you smell that?
If you begin to notice a smell of gas near the unit it is important that you arrange for a Gas Safe engineer to attend as soon as possible, a service may rectify the issue, or it will allow for a full diagnosis to be done and a repair carried out.
When was it last serviced?
Put simply if it's been more than a year since your boiler was serviced, it needs to be serviced, the date should be in your boiler documentation, or your engineer may have issued you with a boiler service record detailing the date of your last service, it is important you keep track of this and arrange your services accordingly.
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